The Brong-Ahafo Regional office of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has stepped up measures to ensure that operators in the hospitality industry comply with regulations and minimum standards.

The office has, therefore, set-up a task force made up of the Police and officials of the Authority, to undertake an eight-day enforcement exercise to check the operational licenses and other important documents of restaurants, hotels, guest houses, hostels and drinking bars in the Region.

Mr Joseph Appiah-Agyei, the Acting Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of GTA, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday, said the taskforce had visited the 21 facilities that had been closed down.

He said the Authority, with support from the Environmental Protection Agency, had identified about 40 facilities comprising hotels, guest houses, hostels, and drinking bars unlawfully operating in the Region.

They have no operational licenses, no permits, need renovations, whilst others lacked fire certificates and other relevant documents.

Mr Appiah-Agyei said the Authority was negotiating with operators of some of the closed-down facilities to obtain or renew their permits, warning that legal actions would be taken against those who failed to comply.

Meanwhile, some of the operators in the Sunyani Municipality have expressed dismay about the closure of their facilities.

They told the GNA during a visit that the Authority did not give them notice or reminder before undertaking the exercise.

“As a human institution, we expect the Authority to at least serve us a notice or reminder. Closing our facilities down will not solve the problem. We need to collaborate for the right thing to be done in the interest of us all,” an attendant at one of the drinking bars, who pleaded anonymity, told the GNA.